SafetyCulture deepens its COVID response with $29M acquisition of ‘micro-learning’ app

September 16, 2020  |  Startland News Staff

Darren Winterford, EdApp CEO, and Luke Anear, SafetyCulture CEO; photo courtesy of Business Wire

An Australian startup with a significant presence in Kansas City has acquired a mobile training app to boost COVID-era education for businesses through free “micro-learning” resources.

“We’re experiencing the biggest workplace shake-up since economies were rebuilt after World War II. This is not survival of the fittest, this is survival of those that can adapt,” said Luke Anear, CEO of SafetyCulture, detailing how folding in EdApp’s technology is the next step for the company. “The pandemic has made it clear there’s a huge appetite for training as companies look to get safely back to business. EdApp will strengthen our ability to support businesses to do their best work.”

EdApp offers micro lessons downloaded straight to users’ smartphones. Learners acquire knowledge in targeted bursts when it suits them best and can learn at their own pace, according to SafetyCulture, which boasts a Crossroads-based second headquarters in Kansas City. Courses that employ micro elearning typically see completion rates rise from as low as 15 percent to about 90 percent and beyond, the company said in a press release. The app currently delivers about 50,000 lessons per day across more than 90 countries.

Click here to learn more about EdApp, which hails from New York City.

SafetyCulture’s $29 million acquisition of EdApp comes as the Sydney, Australia-born workplace safety and quality platform dedicates its 2020 to helping businesses navigate reopening amid new safety restrictions, Anear said.

In response to COVID-19, SafetyCulture digitized workplace guidance from governments and leading industry bodies across the world into free, ready to use and customizable checklists via its iAuditor app — which already has more than 75,000 users at more than 26,000 organizations.

Click here to learn more about iAuditor.

SafetyCulture employs more than 60 workers in Kansas City. Globally, the company has raised $100 million from investors. 

startland-tip-jar

TIP JAR

Did you enjoy this post? Show your support by becoming a member or buying us a coffee.

Tagged , , ,
Featured Business
    Featured Founder

      2020 Startups to Watch

        stats here

        Related Posts on Startland News

        Unruh Furniture

        #MomFund: Unruh Furniture builds more than tables inside a century-old church off KC’s Main Street

        By Tommy Felts | September 20, 2018

        A table can mean stability, said Sam Unruh, founder of Unruh Furniture. It’s four legs help provide the emotional support for a home. “Growing up, my family ate together every night at the table. We all had our spots and still do to this day,” said Unruh, whose custom, made-to-order furniture business operates out of…

        Tim Barton, Jessica Renfrew, and Matt Druten, Edison Spaces

        Second Edison Spaces flexible office site designed for uncertainty of startup life

        By Tommy Felts | September 19, 2018

        Growing a startup is risky enough, said Matt Druten, co-founder of Edison Spaces — entrepreneurs shouldn’t have to worry about finding and maintaining an office. “Changes are unexpected. Nobody really knows where their company is going to be in six months,” he said. “Is my startup going to double in size? Is it going to…

        Digital crossroads

        Digital Crossroads: Techstars sees hints of KC’s future in its history as a collision point of ideas

        By Tommy Felts | September 19, 2018

        Techstars’ Oct. 11 programming during Techweek Kansas City finds inspiration in the past, Lesa Mitchell said, but it focuses on the metro’s future at a digital crossroads. “In the old days, it was called the crossroads because this was actually where all the trains were going through from Mexico to Canada, and east and west…

        My Girl Story

        Jasmine Diane: ‘My Girl Story’ empowerment is bigger than T-shirts, Instagram

        By Tommy Felts | September 18, 2018

        Jasmine Diane Cooper dreams of inspiring women across the world with the My Girl Story movement, she said. “[As women] we will tear ourselves down or we look for things that kind of separate us, but we all have the same struggle,” said the social media influencer and rising star on the Kansas City marketing…